Roman Catholic Bible Study Personal
NotesTM
Using the Roman Catholic Bible to
study Salvation, Tradition, Mass, Mary, Purgatory, Celibacy, Popes, Confession
and many other topics.
www.CatholicBibleStudy.org
Copyright 1998-2009 by J. D.
Martinez
May
be reproduced only in its entirety, without editing. These notes must remain totally free of
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PREFACE
Holy Scripture quotes in
these personal study notes are from the Roman Catholic Bible: The New American
Bible (NAB) With Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms (The New Catholic
Translation), Catholic Bible Press (#9050N). This Bible is the latest
official Roman Catholic translation of the Bible and is endorsed by the Pope.
This Roman Catholic Bible was used in this study so Roman Catholics could
feel comfortable as they examine Holy Scripture.
The purpose for these study
notes is to share what I learned from Holy Scripture and provide some
interesting information that is rarely if ever taught to most Roman Catholics.
I have the utmost respect and love for Roman Catholics and that is why I
want them to see for themselves the truth contained in Holy Scripture.
My name is
As a retired Air Force
officer I had the time to spend years studying the Bible in depth from cover to
cover several times and in old and modern translations. Because I love God and know “life is short,”
I wanted to see for myself the truth in Holy Scripture. This was very
important to me after going through a near-death experience. This was the
only way I could know for sure how to get right with God.
One reason I prepared these
personal study notes was because I know that not everyone has the time to study
the Bible the way I did. With the Roman Catholic Bible, these notes and source
materials listed at the end of these notes, you should be able to clearly see
the truth for yourself. I also included information in the “comments”
sections that I found to be interesting.
The Roman Catholic Bible
referenced above is a paperback edition available through many bookstores.
It contains “study helps” which are Roman Catholic interpretations and
commentary on Holy Scripture. I added the page numbers for this paperback
edition for your convenience. If
you don’t have this exact edition the page number should at least get you
fairly close to the chapter and verse where it will be easy to find. You can also use the table of contents. I’ll illustrate an example: (Ephesians 2:8)
(NAB) (1331) means the book of Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verse 8, New American
Bible translation, page 1331 of the paperback Bible edition referenced above.
Catechism references are from the new Catechism of the Catholic Church and
reference paragraph numbers are given.
All Bible references are very
important so quotes can be read along with the entire chapter for the complete
context in which they’re used. This is very important because I’ve often
found that some people who have not read Holy Scripture try to brush off the
word of God in Holy Scripture by saying “it’s taken out of context.” Footnotes are given for supporting references
and source material listed at the end of these study notes. You will also find
web links to other Christian web sites near the end of these notes.
The Roman Catholic NAB is a
very clear modern translation overall. For additional clarity a second
translation was put alongside the NAB translation in only five of all the Holy
Scripture quotes in these study notes.
Emphasis such as CAPITAL
LETTERS has been added by me to highlight key points. All personal
comments and source material information follow Holy Scripture quotes and are
also in the “comments” sections. All Holy Scripture is in bold type.
There is so much I have
learned and want to share but will limit this study to the following
topics. I encourage you to read them all
or simply “click” on the topics individually.
If your time is limited, at least read “Salvation, Tradition, Mass,
Epilogue, and How To Receive Jesus.” You
may also print this out and read at your leisure.
GOSPEL VEILED TO
THOSE PERISHING!
YOU DON'T NEED ANYONE TO TEACH YOU
(“saved”)
(“justified”) (“born again”) (“born from above”) (“eternal life” with God in
heaven)
HOLY
SCRIPTURE:
“For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and this is NOT from you; it is the gift of God; it
is NOT from works, so no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8) (NAB) (1331) Holy Scripture
clearly says here that you can NOT earn your way to heaven by good works such
as being a good person or by doing more good than bad. Grace is a free gift of
God through faith in Jesus. Good works cannot save you; however, good works may
be one of the results of being saved through faith.
“a person is not justified
by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ,…because by works of the
law no one will be justified.” (Galatians
2:16) (NAB) (1323) Read Galatians Chapter 3 (NAB) (1321-1328) for a more
detailed look at how Holy Scripture condemns teaching justification (salvation)
through good works instead of by faith.
“But if by grace, it is no
longer because of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace." (Romans 11:6) (NAB) (1275) Grace
is defined as the unmerited or undeserved favor of God which the Bible says is
a gift of God and would not be grace if it had to be earned by good works.
“Therefore, let us leave
behind the basic teaching about Christ and advance to maturity, without laying
the foundation all over again: repentance from dead works and faith in God” (Hebrews 6:1) (NAB) (1382) This
unmistakably means we need to repent from dead works (change from doing good works
for salvation) and first and foremost put our faith in God alone.
“But when the kindness and
generous love of God our savior appeared, NOT BECAUSE OF ANY RIGHTEOUS DEEDS WE
HAVE DONE but because of his mercy, he saved us through the bath of rebirth and
renewal by the Holy Spirit whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ
our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope
of eternal life.”
(Titus 3:4-7) (NAB) (1373) As a Roman Catholic I was taught that you had
to earn your own salvation by earning grace from good works (good deeds,
sacraments, etc.). (Catechism, 1477)
“realizing that you were
ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable
things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a
spotless unblemished lamb.” (1
Peter 1:18-19) (NAB) (1403) Jesus paid for our sins on the cross; they
are not paid for by any good works we have done. All we have to do is accept
this free gift by receiving Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior by becoming
born again.
“For the Son of Man did
not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as ransom for many.” (Mark
“One cannot redeem
oneself, pay to God a ransom. Too high the price to redeem a life; one would
never have enough to stay alive forever and never see the pit.” (Psalm 49:7-8) (NAB) (590) Holy
Scripture clearly says here that you can never do enough to redeem yourself
(earn your way to heaven); the price is too high. That’s why Jesus died
on the cross to pay the ransom for us. To accept this free gift of God
Jesus said we must repent and believe to become born again. As a Roman
Catholic I was taught that I could save myself and others through good works
and indulgences (Catechism 1477, 1479). Catechism Paragraph 2027 says:
“We can mint for ourselves and for others all the graces needed to attain
eternal life.” Again, this very clearly contradicts Holy Scripture.
“not having any righteousness
of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the
righteousness from God, depending on faith to know him” (Philippians 3:9-10) (NAB) (1342) I cannot earn my own righteousness for
salvation; the only righteousness comes through faith in Christ.
“all have sinned and are
deprived of the glory of God. They are justified freely by his grace through
the redemption in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as an expiation, through
faith” (Romans
“Abraham believed God, and
it was credited to him as righteousness (saved). A worker’s wage is credited not as a
gift, but something due. But when one does not work, but believes in the one
who justifies (saves) the ungodly, his faith is credited as
righteousness.” (Romans 4:3-5) (NAB) (1267) Once again Holy Scripture
says that God credits the righteousness of Jesus to your account when you
believe in him. As shown earlier, you can never do enough on your own to earn
self-righteousness.
“It is the power of God
for the salvation of everyone who believes;” (Romans
“For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) (NAB) (1270)
“If you confess with your
mouth that JESUS IS LORD and believe in your heart that God raised him from the
dead you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and is so
justified, and one confesses with the mouth and is so saved.” (Romans 10:9-10) (NAB) (1274) Only God
knows your heart. When you confess
“Jesus is Lord” you are declaring that Jesus is your Savior (from sin and
eternal punishment) and Lord (master) of your life. When I was a Roman
Catholic I never knew what “Jesus is Lord” meant and simply used the term
“Lord” as just another title for Jesus or God.
He wasn’t “number one” in my life nor the true master of my life. I never thought of Him as my true savior
since I was too busy trying to save myself through good works and sacraments.
“I write these things to
you so that YOU MAY KNOW THAT YOU HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, you who believe in the
name of the son of God.”
(1 John 5:13) (NAB) (1418) The Bible clearly says here you CAN know
you’re saved and going to heaven. As a Roman Catholic I was taught that
you can NOT know if you have attained eternal life until after you die! It’s too late to find out then; and eternity
is forever! (Catechism 1036, 2005)
JESUS said: “rejoice because your names have
been written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20) (NAB) (1162) Jesus Himself even says
here you can know that you’ve been saved and are going to heaven.
JESUS said: “whoever hears my word and
believes in the one who sent me HAS ETERNAL LIFE and will not come to
condemnation, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24) (NAB) (1197)
JESUS said: “For God so loved the world that
he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but
have eternal life.” (John 3:16) (NAB) (1193)
“In him you also, who have
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have BELIEVED IN
HIM, were sealed with the Holy Spirit.” (Ephesians 1:13) (NAB) (1330) When you’re sealed by
the Holy Spirit you are born again and a child of God.
“But to those who did
accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who BELIEVE in his
name,” (John
“There is no salvation
through anyone else
(including Mary) nor is there any other name under heaven (including the
Roman Catholic Church) given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”
(Acts
“For our sake He (God) made him (Jesus) to be
sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in
him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) (NAB) (1310) God’s standard (a perfectly
sinless life) can never be achieved by humans. Sin is a barrier between God and
us. But because God loves us so much he sent Jesus in human form to live a
perfectly sinless life in our place and take the penalty for our sins by dying
on the cross. Jesus offers us His perfectly sinless life (His righteousness) to
us as a free gift. All we have to do is receive Him by becoming truly born
again.
JESUS said: “I assure you, unless you are
BORN AGAIN, you can never see the
Nicodemus said to JESUS:
“How can a person once grown old be BORN AGAIN? Surely he cannot re-enter
his mother’s womb and be BORN AGAIN can he?” JESUS answered, “Amen, amen, I say
to you, no one can enter the
“So whoever is in Christ (born again) is a new creation: the
old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians
5:17) (NAB) (1310) This makes it clear that you will see the change in the life
of someone that has repented to become truly “born again.” As a Roman
Catholic I was taught that I was born again when I got baptized; however, as a
baby I had no concept of sin and therefore could not change my sinful lifestyle
and make a commitment to God.
“I will give you a new
heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony
hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make
you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27) (NAB) (952)
This is another reason why you see the change in someone that is truly
born again. It may be a gradual change, but you’ll see a definite change
in their lives as they make God their first priority.
“the one who began a good
work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6) (NAB) (1339)
This means when you become born again God fills you with the Holy Spirit and
helps refine you in a gradual process the rest of your life. This is
called sanctification where you grow in your Christian walk.
“Sometimes a way seems
right to a man, but the end of it leads to death!” (Proverbs 16:25) (NAB) (673)
Salvation can NOT be attained by man’s way of trying to earn his way to
heaven through good deeds and sacrifices. Holy Scripture says salvation
is a free gift of God which anyone can accept by becoming born again.
Good deeds are one of the results of a saving faith. Good deeds don’t get
you into heaven; however, if you have truly been born again your good deeds
will determine your rewards in heaven.
JESUS’ disciples asked:
“Who then can be saved?” JESUS looked at them and said, “For human beings this
is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:25-26) (NAB) (1093)
Jesus made it clear that it is impossible for us to save ourselves.
It is only possible with what Jesus did for us. Jesus was the only one to
ever lead a perfectly sinless life on this earth. He was the unblemished
sacrificial lamb who paid the penalty for our sins. By becoming truly
born again we put all our faith and trust in what Jesus has done for us rather
than what we can do for ourselves. This free gift is how God makes it
possible for us to have salvation and spend eternity with God in heaven.
JESUS said: “But I tell you, if you do not
repent, you will all perish” (Luke 13:3) (NAB) (1168) Repent means to
turn away from sinful ways and toward God. Many people believe in Jesus
but fail to repent and Jesus says you must believe and REPENT to be saved!
JESUS said: “Not everyone who says to me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the
will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in
your name? Did we not do mighty DEEDS in your name?’ Then I will declare
to them solemnly, ‘I never KNEW you. Depart from me you evil doers.’”
(Matthew 7:21-23) (NAB) (1071) Jesus clearly said only the one who does
the will of the Father (believe, repent and obey) will be saved. Deeds
don’t get you to heaven; it’s knowing Jesus through repentance and a personal
relationship (when you become born again). Again, good works are one of the results
of salvation, not its cause.
COMMENTS:
As stated earlier “born
again” literally means “born from above” and “born of spirit.” This is what
happens when you believe in Jesus. “Believe” in this case does not simply
mean that you acknowledge that Jesus existed and what the Bible says about him
is true. After all, Holy Scripture says: “Even the demons believe.”
(James 2:19) (NAB) (1398)
“Believe” for salvation’s
sake means you literally put your full weight and trust in Jesus as your
personal Lord (Master of your life) and Savior (from sin for salvation).
You do this by surrendering (committing) your life to Him, inviting Him
into your heart, asking for forgiveness of your sins, and repenting (changing
your direction toward God and changing your sinful ways with God’s help).
You must also believe with all your heart that Jesus is the son of God
who died on the cross for your sins and was resurrected from the dead. (Romans
10:9) (NAB) (1274)
Once you are truly born again
doesn’t mean you’ll live perfectly without sin. It means you will not
habitually sin and will avoid circumstances that could lead to sin. If
you sin, you can confess directly to God in prayer. Only God knows your
heart and will forgive you if you’re sincerely sorry and repent.
Again, repent means you commit to God that you will turn away from sinful
ways (with God’s help; you can’t do it alone). In short, you will be
doing it God’s way instead of your own way. The creator of the universe
knows what’s best for you and loves you more than you’ll ever know; so don’t be
afraid to put all your trust in Him!
(Tradition
can be biblical or unbiblical. Jesus
clearly spoke against unbiblical tradition, which includes man-made religious
rules, precepts, and rituals in the Gospel of Mark.)
HOLY
SCRIPTURE:
JESUS said: “This people honors me with their
lips, but their hearts are far from me; IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS
DOCTRINES HUMAN PRECEPTS. YOU DISREGARD GOD’S COMMANDMENT BUT CLING TO
HUMAN TRADITION.” He went on to say, “HOW WELL YOU HAVE SET ASIDE
THE COMMANDMENT OF GOD IN ORDER TO UPHOLD YOUR TRADITION!” (Mark 7:6-9)
(NAB) (1126)
JESUS said: “YOU NULLIFY THE WORD OF GOD IN
FAVOR OF YOUR TRADITION THAT YOU HAVE HANDED ON. AND YOU DO MANY SUCH
THINGS.” (Mark
“See to it that no one
captivates you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to HUMAN
TRADITION, according to the elemental powers of the world and not according to
Christ.” (Colossians
2:8) (NAB) (1348)
The Apostle Paul said: “Let
no one, then, pass judgment on you in matters of food and drink or with regard
to a festival or new moon or Sabbath.” (Colossians 2:16) (NAB) (1348)
As a Roman Catholic I was taught that it was a mortal sin to miss mass on
a “holy day of obligation” and if I did would spend eternity in hell unless I
confessed to a priest. Also, for several years before the tradition
changed I was not supposed to eat meat on Fridays. This may change back
again since the nation’s bishops are considering returning to this tradition.23 Another point I’d like to make is that
unbiblical tradition (words of man) changes; Holy Scripture (Word of God) does
not change.
“If you died with Christ (born again) to the elemental
powers of the world, why do you still submit to regulations as if you were
still living in the world? ‘Do not handle! Do not taste! Do
not touch!’ These are all things destined to perish with use; they accord
with HUMAN PRECEPTS AND TEACHINGS.’” (2 Colossians 2:20-22) (NAB)
(1348-1349) As a Roman Catholic for several years I couldn’t touch
the Eucharist with my hands or drink the wine at mass UNTIL these man-made
teachings changed. Also, there were many other man-made rules that have
since changed. The point is unbiblical man-made tradition rules keep changing.
God and Holy Scripture never change.
“not to go beyond what is
written (in Holy
Scripture)” (1 Corinthians 4:6) (NAB) (1287) After being a Roman Catholic
for over forty years and studying the Bible from cover to cover several times I
know for a fact that Roman Catholic tradition goes well beyond what is
written. Just look at all the unbiblical
traditions that have been added over the centuries (mass, rosary, praying to
saints, purgatory, etc.).
“and that from infancy you
have known the SACRED SCRIPTURES, WHICH ARE CAPABLE OF GIVING YOU WISDOM FOR
SALVATION THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS.
All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for
refutation, for correction, and for training righteousness, so that one who
belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:15-17) (NAB) (1369)
This plainly says Holy Scripture alone is capable of giving you the
wisdom you need for salvation along with everything you need of be an effective
Christian.
COMMENTS:
I can see clearly how Jesus
felt about religious human tradition; he chastised the Jews for it Himself.
All of the human tradition in today’s Roman Catholic Church did not exist
in the first three centuries of the Apostolic Christian Church.
Man-made tradition began
creeping into church teachings around 324 A.D. when Emperor Constantine made
Christianity the official religion. The pagans then got into the church
to gain the rights of Christians and in doing so brought in much of their pagan
tradition and rituals. The pagans did this because they found Christian
worship too simple after practicing their own elaborate pagan ritualistic
tradition.4
Before this unbiblical
tradition began entering church teachings there were no confessionals, statues,
rosaries, votive candles, holy water, images, relics, medals, vestments,
scapulars, signs of the cross, prayers for the dead, purgatory, limbo, prayers
to Mary and the saints, novenas, popes, nuns, celibacy of clergy, sacrifices of
the mass, lent, etc.4 Also,
there were not seven sacraments; just the only two in Holy Scripture: baptism
and communion.
In 1545 A.D. the Roman
Catholic Vatican Council of Trent declared Tradition to be of EQUAL authority
as Holy Scripture!7
As a Roman Catholic I was
taught that Scripture and Tradition together were the rule of faith because the
early Christian Church was without a New Testament and relied on the oral
teachings of the Apostles. I was then taught that the New Testament came
later when a portion of Tradition was put into writing.
First of all, even the very
first Christians were never without Holy Scripture. As a matter of fact
just three days after the crucifixion Jesus explained the Old Testament
Scripture to two of his disciples who were traveling back to their homes. Jesus
explained to them all the truths concerning Himself in the Old Testament from
the time of Moses up through the prophets.
See Luke 24:25-32 (NAB) (1185) The early Jewish Christians
rediscovered their own Holy Scripture when they found the prophetic life, death
and resurrection of Jesus in the Old Testament thanks to the Holy Spirit coming
on the day of Pentecost and the Apostles’ teachings.2
Much of the Roman Catholic
Church’s teaching is widely ignored by Roman Catholics. “Almost half of
Catholic marriages end in divorce, the same rate as for other Americans.
Of those who applied in 1992 in the
Tradition is always changing.
An example to show how tradition (man’s word) changes is in the Roman
Catholic teachings on cremation. The Roman Catholic Church banned
cremation and wouldn’t even allow the ashes inside the church during mass. The ashes would have to wait outside in the
hearse. In the 1980’s cremation was allowed along with the scattering of
the ashes. Now a new teaching in 1997 bans the scattering of ashes.
More recently in 2004 the Roman Catholic Church changed some of the
traditions of the Mass including rules, postures and gestures.31 This is another reason why I can’t understand
how the Roman Catholic Church can declare that tradition (word of man which
changes) can be on equal footing as Holy Scripture (Word of God which never
changes).
Surveys recently commissioned
by conservative Roman Catholic groups have found for example that the vast
majority of U.S. Catholics see nothing wrong with birth control (before
conception); they also have problems with other tradition. The conclusion
as reported in the news media of the Roman Catholic polls: “Therefore, the
current alienation between the teaching authority and the faithful will
continue.”17
COMMENTS:
The term “priest” is defined
as someone who makes sacrifices and is a mediator between God and man. Before
Jesus died on the cross Jewish priests would make animal blood sacrifices and
burnt offerings for the forgiveness of sins. As shown below when Jesus
completed ONCE AND FOR ALL his sacrifice on the cross, the temple curtain
(which separated God from man in the Jewish temple) was torn from top to
bottom. This signified man being given direct access to God through
Jesus because of what Jesus did on the cross. According to the Bible priests
are no longer mediators between man and God because Jesus became the “High
Priest” (Hebrews
However, today Roman Catholic
Priests conduct the “sacrifice of the mass” which I was taught is the
continuing sacrifice of Jesus’ actual physical body and blood. This means that
every priest around the world at every mass supposedly brings Jesus down from
heaven bodily for what I was taught was an unbloody sacrifice. I was
taught that Jesus’ actual sacrificed body, blood, soul, and divinity are in
each host (Eucharist). (Catechism 1374)
The change from the bread and
wine elements to the actual physical body and blood of Jesus is called
“transubstantiation.” There is nothing in Holy Scripture about Jesus having to
be continually sacrificed. In fact Holy Scripture is very clear in
several verses by stating that Jesus’ sacrifice was finished ONCE AND FOR ALL
as you will see below. Also, an “unbloody” sacrifice contradicts Holy
Scripture as shown in the next Bible verse.
HOLY
SCRIPTURE:
“without the shedding of
blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews
9:22) (NAB) (1387) Jesus shed his actual body and blood ONCE AND FOR ALL
on the cross at
“Not that he (Jesus) might
offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters each year into the
sanctuary with blood that is not his own; if that were so, he would have had to
suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the world. But now ONCE AND FOR
ALL he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by his sacrifice.” (Hebrews 9:25-26) (NAB) (1387) Note that Jesus does NOT offer himself
“repeatedly” as a sacrifice but “ONCE AND FOR ALL.”
“we have been consecrated
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE AND FOR ALL. Every
priest stands daily at his ministry, offering frequently those same sacrifices
that can never take away sins. But this one (Jesus) offered ONE sacrifice for
sins and took his seat FOREVER at the right hand of God.” (Hebrews 10:10-12) (NAB) (1387-1388)
“Where there is forgiveness
of these, THERE IS NO LONGER OFFERING FOR SIN. Therefore, brothers, since
through the blood of Jesus we have the confidence of entrance into the
sanctuary by the new and living way he opened for us the veil,” (Hebrews 10:18-20) (NAB) (1388)
Again, the temple curtain that veiled us from direct access to God was
torn from top to bottom when Jesus died on the cross. This signified
giving us direct access to God through Jesus alone. As shown above in
Holy Scripture he became our “High Priest” and the only one who could make the
perfect sacrifice ONCE AND FOR ALL. For more details and the full context
I encourage you to read all of Hebrews chapter 10. (NAB) (1387-1389)
“For as often as you eat
this bread and drink the cup, you PROCLAIM the death of the Lord until he
comes.” (1
Corinthians 11:26) (NAB) (1295)
JESUS said: “DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME” (Luke
JESUS said: “DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME”
(1 Corinthians 11:24) (NAB) (1295) Bread and wine are symbols of his
body and blood and are taken in remembrance of Jesus dying on the cross for our
sins. The symbolism in Holy Communion can be meaningful or meaningless
depending on whether you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Jesus used a lot of parables and figurative language in the Bible to help
people understand his message. Jesus himself said he uses figures of
speech in John
JESUS said: “Once I was dead, but now I am
alive forever and ever.” (Revelation 1:18) (NAB) (1428) Even Jesus says
that he does not continue to die for our sins over and over at each mass.
JESUS said: “It is finished.” (John
19:30) (NAB) (1218) These were his last words on the cross when he
completed the sacrifice of his actual body and blood ONCE AND FOR ALL for our
sins. When something is finished, it’s finished! The Greek word
used in the original text of Holy Scripture is “tetelestai” which means
“It is paid; the debt has been paid in full.”26 To
suggest that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was not finished ONCE AND FOR ALL
means Jesus’ sacrifice was insufficient. As a Roman Catholic I was taught
that a priest is required to continue the sacrifice of Jesus’ actual body and
blood over and over for our sins.
“We know that Christ,
raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. As to
his death, he died to sin ONCE AND FOR ALL;” (Romans 6:9-10) (NAB) (1269)
“This Jesus who was taken
up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going
into heaven.” (Acts
COMMENTS:
It’s very clear from Holy
Scripture that Jesus died ONCE AND FOR ALL for our sins and he cannot be
continually sacrificed over and over at every mass around the world. When Holy scripture repeats itself (“once and
for all”) it is done for emphasis.
Holy Scripture explains Holy
Communion as not only proclaiming and remembering what Jesus did on the Cross
but also signifying oneness with Christ. This is because His church is
made up of all true born again believers who make up the body of Christ; and
Christ is the head of the church. Holy Scripture: “Because the loaf of
bread is one, we, though many are one body, for we all partake of the one
loaf.” (1 Corinthians 10:17) (NAB) (1294) Holy Communion is an
expression of our oneness. As we partake of the same elements (bread and
wine), we partake of what the elements symbolized: Christ through whom we are
one. Again, all true born again believers are part of the one body of
Christ which is his church.
Archbishop
The tradition of mass
developed gradually as a sacrifice and attendance was made obligatory in the
11th century.4
(Mary
was the blessed virgin earthly mother of Jesus’ humanity and a model
Christian.)
HOLY
SCRIPTURE:
“And Mary said: ‘My soul
proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God MY SAVIOR.’” (Luke 1:47) (NAB) (1145)
Mary was human and she herself said she needed a savior from sin.
“ALL have sinned and are
deprived of the glory of God.” (Romans
3:23) (NAB) (1266) All means all. The only one to ever walk on this
earth without sin was Jesus, the unblemished Lamb of God; again, Mary was a
model Christian but was also human and needed a savior.
“Behold, the virgin shall
be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means
‘God with us.’ When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had
commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with
her UNTIL she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.” (Matthew 1:23-25) (NAB) (1063)
Holy Scripture says that after Jesus was born Mary raised a family and
there is absolutely nothing wrong with natural motherhood within the bounds of
marriage.
The Bible in the Gospel of
Matthew speaks about Jesus’ family when Jesus is rejected in his own hometown
of
JESUS said: “Woman, how does your concern
affect me?” (John 2:4) (NAB) (1192) Jesus addressed Mary as
“Woman.” Mary is the earthly human mother of Jesus’ humanity, not the
mother of Jesus’ deity. As a Roman Catholic I was told she was the mother
of God.
“Praise the name of the
Lord, for his name ALONE is exalted;”
(Psalm 148:13) (NAB) (655) As a Roman Catholic I was taught that God has
exalted Mary in heavenly glory as “Queen of Heaven” and she is to be praised
with special devotion. (Catechism 966, 871, 2675)
“I am the Lord, this is my
name; my glory I give to NO OTHER, nor my praise to idols.” (Isaiah 42:8) (NAB) (820) As a
Roman Catholic I used to see many celebrations with Mary as the focus including
processions where a statue of Mary was carried around and glorified with
praise. Most everyone has heard the famous song, “Ave Maria.” An idol can be anything important in one’s
life including a person, a saint, an object, yourself (pride), money,
materialism or any other “gods.”
“For there is one God.
There is also ONE mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus,
himself human, who gave himself as ransom for all.” (1 Timothy 2:5) (NAB) (1361) As
a Roman Catholic I was taught that Mary was a co-mediator to entrust cares and
petitions. (Catechism 968-970, 2677)
JESUS said: “I am the way and the truth and
the life. No one comes to the Father EXCEPT THROUGH ME.” (John 14:6) (NAB)
(1211) There is no place in Holy Scripture that says you go through Mary
to have access to or petition God. Also,
there is nothing in Holy Scripture about grace from God flowing through Mary to
us.
“There is no salvation
through ANYONE ELSE, nor is there ANY OTHER NAME under heaven given to the
human race by which we are to be saved.” (Acts
COMMENTS:
Again, Mary was a model
Christian and the beautiful blessed virgin earthly mother of Jesus.
Church history is about 2,000 years old, yet most of the Roman Catholic
doctrines of Mary have been proclaimed in just the last 150 years! These
doctrines which are NOT in Holy Scripture continue to elevate Mary higher and
higher with each new added doctrine. Many of these doctrines have made
Mary into an idol and have given her attributes similar to Jesus.
For example, Pope Pius IX
proclaimed the doctrine of the “Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary” in
1854. Holy Scripture plainly states that JESUS was conceived immaculately in
Mary’s womb. However, the Roman Catholic doctrine of 1854 states that
MARY was conceived immaculately in MARY’S MOTHER and thus avoided “original
sin!” (Catechism 490-492)
Most Roman Catholics believe
that when they celebrate the “Immaculate Conception of Mary” they are celebrating
Jesus’ immaculate conception in Mary’s womb, which is a true fact in Holy
Scripture. However, when the Roman
Catholic Church celebrates the “Immaculate Conception” they are really
celebrating their own Roman Catholic doctrine of Mary’s immaculate conception
in Mary’s mother!
Also, a little over 50 years
ago in 1950 Pope Pius XII proclaimed the “Assumption of the Virgin Mary”
(Mary’s body and soul ascension into heaven). This was proclaimed
because many people questioned whether or not Mary died since she was
proclaimed to be sinless by the earlier proclaimed doctrine of her immaculate
conception in her mother. After all, Holy Scriptures states that the
“wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) (NAB) (1270) So because of the
earlier proclaimed doctrine saying that Mary was born without “original sin”
than she must have ascended bodily into heaven. Yet with these great
miracles there is not one single word about any of these doctrines on Mary in
Holy Scripture!
There are many other Roman
Catholic teachings on Mary which you can see for yourself are not in the Bible.
In fact, when I read the Bible for the first time I first noticed how
very little Mary is mentioned in the Bible. What little is mentioned is
primarily about her human role as Jesus’ earthly mother. The exception
is the Immaculate Conception of JESUS in Mary’s womb which is why she is called
“blessed among women.”
Unfortunately, I believe the
Mary of the Bible would be saddened to see all the praise and veneration she
receives which should all be directed to God alone.
THE BOTTOM LINE OF HOLY
SCRIPTURE: Mary was the mother of Jesus’ humanity, not his deity! Jesus
is the one and only redeemer and mediator between mankind and God, not Mary,
Priests, Saints, religions, churches, etc. That’s why Holy Scripture in
Revelation
COMMENTS:
The title of “pope” means
“universal bishop” and comes from the word “papa” or “father.” This
title was first offered to the bishop of
To have an “unbroken chain”
of popes the Roman Catholic Church lists all previous bishops of
After the Apostle Judas
Iscariot hanged himself the Apostles were discussing a successor for Judas.
The Apostle Peter said: “it is necessary that one of the men who
accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning
from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become
with us a witness to his resurrection.” (Acts 2:21-22) (NAB) (1224)
Not one single pope was a witness to the resurrection. Even the Apostle
Paul became a witness to the resurrection when Jesus spoke to him on the road
to
In Holy Scripture’s Letter to
the Romans from Paul there is absolutely no acknowledgment of Peter ever being
in
The New Testament was written
in Greek which is a very precise language. Jesus said to Peter after
Peter confessed his faith to Jesus that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah):
(original Greek words are shown below)
“Thou art Peter (Petros) and upon this rock
(
Petros: masculine gender Greek noun meaning
boulder or stone.
The bottom line: Jesus is the
rock, not Peter! Jesus and the fact that he was the Christ (Messiah) made
the rock (
Holy Scripture unmistakably
teaches that “Christ is the head of the church” (Ephesians
Even the new Catechism of the
Catholic Church in states: “Moved by the grace of the Holy Spirit and drawn by
the Father, we believe in Jesus and confess: ‘You are the Christ (Messiah), the
Son of the living God.’ On the ROCK of this faith confessed by St.
Peter, Christ built his Church.”
(Catechism 424)
The infallibility of the Pope
was greatly debated but was finally approved by the Vatican Council in 1870.
If you know history and the Bible you know that popes are human and have made
errors in their teachings on faith and morals directly and indirectly.
Examples include the Crusades, Inquisition, Tradition that contradicts Holy
Scripture and World War II.
A specific example to show
that popes are human and are fallible is when Pope Eugene IV (1431-1447)
condemned Joan of Arc (1421-1431) to be burned alive at the stake as a witch
while another pope, Benedict XV, declared her to be a Saint in 1919.
Obviously the first pope had to be wrong.4
Also, during the inquisition
popes Paul V (1605-1621) and Urban VIII (1623-1644) condemned Galileo for his
true scientific theory that the earth revolved around the sun instead of just
the opposite. Yet Galileo was imprisoned and tortured during the
inquisition because these popes said Galileo’s theory contradicted Holy
Scripture.5 Obviously these popes misinterpreted Holy
Scripture; yet the Roman Catholic Church claims its Magisterium is the
infallible interpreter of Holy Scripture.
Finally in 1992 the pope declared the church erred in condemning
Galileo.27
Pope Sixtus V (1585-1590)
recommended people read the Bible while Pope Pius VII (1800-1823) and other
popes condemned the practice! 5
The
Probably one of the greatest
examples of pope fallibility on faith and morals is Pope Honorarius (625-638
A.D.). He taught false doctrine about Jesus and was anathematized
(cursed) by Councils and popes as a heretic for centuries.5 Although he was a pope for 13 years
he was also excommunicated by the sixth ecumenical council in 680 A.D. He
was condemned for teaching heresy about Jesus, yet the pope’s teachings on
faith and morals are supposed to be infallible!
Popes historically have had
great influence over the heads of state in
There were 29 popes that held
office and are now said to have obtained the office of pope fraudulently or
were found to be unfit for the office and are now called “anti-popes.” I
have not mentioned the most serious errors of former popes because they are
very shocking and hard to believe but you can read about them yourself in a
book by Joseph R. Schofield, a former Roman Catholic Catechism teacher.
The book is called “Escape From Purgatory.” There is also a book
on this subject written by a Roman Catholic who described in detail many of the
errors and abuses of popes. The book is entitled The Papal Princes, by
Glenn D. Kittler with the Nihil Obstat of Daniel D. Flynn, S.T.D., Censor
Librorum, and the Imprimatur of Cardinal Spellman, 1960.
The
As a Roman Catholic I was
taught that popes represented Jesus on earth. Jesus was very humble and
according to Holy Scripture (Luke
Decisions in the early
Christian Church were made democratically after reflection on Holy Scripture by
the apostles and church elders. (Read Acts 15 through 16:4) (NAB) (1242-1244)
Roman Catholic Archbishop
John R. Quinn, retired head of the
HOLY
SCRIPTURE:
“Therefore, a bishop must
be irreproachable, married only once, ” (1 Timothy 3:2) (NAB) (1362)
PAUL THE APOSTLE said: “He
must manage his own household well, keeping his children under control with
perfect dignity; for if a man does not know how to manage his own household,
how can he take care of the
PAUL THE APOSTLE said: “Do
we not have the right to take a Christian WIFE AS DO THE REST OF THE APOSTLES,
and the brothers of the Lord, and Kephas?” (1 Corinthians 9:5) (NAB) (1292)
COMMENTS:
Even the apostle Peter, who I
was taught as a Roman Catholic was the first Pope, was married. Holy
Scripture in the Gospel of Luke 4:38 (NAB) (1152) states that Jesus entered the
house of Simon (Peter) to cure his "MOTHER-IN-LAW."
Over 10,000 priests have left
the priesthood since Vatican II and celibacy was one of the major reasons.8
A 1996 Gallup poll commissioned by a Roman Catholic Priest and
Sociologist found that 69% of Roman Catholics said the next pope should permit
priests to marry.10 There is also a coalition of more
than 20 groups of Roman Catholics that has launched a petition drive in 1997
seeking to get 1 million signatures calling for “fundamental church reforms.”10
The celibacy issue has been making
headlines over the years especially when some Roman Catholic Bishops and an
Archbishop have admitted publicly to NOT being celibate. One Bishop
disappeared with a parishioner in order to get married. He already had a
15-year-old son from a previous relationship.13
On ABC Television’s “Good
Morning America” broadcast of
There is a shortage of
priests and a mass can not be said without a priest. ABC World News
Tonight broadcast a news piece on
Roman Catholic Cardinal Basil
Hume said that priestly celibacy “is not divine law” and could be changed
anytime the pope or church desired.9 A major point being made here is that a Roman
Catholic Cardinal is making a distinction between Roman Catholic teaching
(tradition) and “divine law” such as in Holy Scripture (the word of God).
HOLY
SCRIPTURE:
JESUS Said: “Call NO ONE on earth your
father; you have but one Father in heaven.” (Matthew 23:9) (NAB) (1100)
Jesus was talking about a spiritual father. As a Roman Catholic I
was taught to call priests “Father” and the Pope “Holy Father.” This
clearly shows that Roman Catholic tradition is followed rather than the word of
God. Again, Jesus said: “You nullify the word of God in favor
of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.”
(Mark
HOLY
SCRIPTURE:
JESUS said: “When you pray, don’t babble on
and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are
answered only by repeating their words again and again.” (Matthew 6:7)
(NLT) The NAB translation: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who
think that they will be heard because of their many words.” (Matthew 6:7)
(NAB) (1069) It should be noted that in the Rosary prayers are repeated
again and again with about 10 prayers said to Mary for every one said to God.
And as documented in Holy Scripture earlier in these notes, God said he
shares his glory with NO ONE else and there is only ONE mediator, Jesus!
The Rosary was invented in 1090 A.D. by Peter the Hermit over 1,000 years after
Jesus died on the cross.4
HOLY
SCRIPTURE:
God gave this commandment: “You
shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of ANYTHING that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under
the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them.” (Exodus 20:4-5)
(NKJV) The NAB translation: “You shall not carve idols for yourselves
in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the
waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down to them or worship them.” (Exodus
20:4-5) (NAB) (70) As a Roman Catholic I kneeled down before statues for
worship and prayer.
“You saw no form at all on
the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire. Be
strictly on your guard, therefore not to degrade yourselves by fashioning an
idol to represent ANY figure, whether it be the form of a man or woman” (Deuteronomy
COMMENTS:
Most of us learned God’s Ten
Commandments early in life. However, as a Roman Catholic I never learned
about God’s second commandment against statues which is omitted from Catechism
books! I have been in a lot of Roman Catholic churches and believe I know
why this commandment of God is omitted (all the statues). Because the
second commandment is omitted all other commandments in the Catechism have
moved up in position (the third is listed as the second, the fourth is listed
as the third, etc.). But since deleting the second commandment would only
leave nine commandments in the Catechism the tenth commandment against coveting
is split into two anti-coveting commandments so the commandments can add up to
ten!
If you look in the Bible the
10th commandment in a nutshell clearly says “Don’t covet anything.” Holy
Scripture: "You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall
not covet your neighbor’s WIFE, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or
ass, nor anything else that belongs to him.” (Exodus 20:17) (NAB) (71)
As you can see the wife is listed after the house and before the slaves,
animals and anything else. This clearly shows in context that there is
ONE commandment against coveting, not two with a separate commandment against
coveting a neighbor’s wife. Even the Roman Catholic Bible lists the coveting
commandment clearly in context as seen above.
So again, the Roman Catholic
Church deleted God’s second commandment against statues and now has two
separate commandments against coveting. This manipulation plainly
demonstrates to me that the Roman Catholic Church has placed more emphasis on
man-made religious tradition than on Holy Scripture and the word of God.
This is exactly what Jesus spoke strongly against.
Again, Jesus said: “How
well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your
tradition!” (Mark 7:9) (NAB) (1126)
HOLY
SCRIPTURE:
“It happened in those days
that Jesus came from
“Or are you unaware that
we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We
were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ
was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in
newness of life. For if we have grown into union with him through a death
like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. We know
that our OLD SELF was crucified with him, so that our SINFUL BODY might be done
away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.” (Romans 6:3-6) (NAB) (1269)
“REPENT and be baptized,
every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins”
(Acts
“When eight days were
completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the
angel before he was conceived in the womb.” (Luke 2:21) (NAB) (1147)
COMMENTS:
As seen above in Holy
Scripture, Jesus was circumcised and “dedicated” as an 8 day old baby and later
as an adult was baptized by full immersion in water.
One of the first desires of a
“new believer” after becoming truly “born again” is to get baptized. As
you saw above Holy Scripture speaks about the symbolism of immersion in water
as burying your OLD SELF and your resurrection to your new Christian life when
you come up out of the water.
A baby has no concept of sin
and is too young to REPENT (turn away from a sinful lifestyle and turn toward
God) and make a serious decision to commit to Jesus as personal Lord and
Savior. Also, as a baby, what old things have passed away?
Even if you are “born again”
at Baptism as a Roman Catholic you lose your salvation the first time you
commit a “mortal” sin such as missing mass. To regain your salvation as a
Roman Catholic you have to confess your sins to a priest.
I was taught as a Roman
Catholic that if babies aren’t baptized before they die, they cannot go to
heaven and must go to “limbo.” This is not in Holy Scripture! God knows the heart and the “age of
accountability” of each child. It’s
cruel to tell parents of deceased newborn babies that their baby will not go to
heaven since he or she wasn’t baptized.
Roman Catholic parents need to know that babies have definitely not
reached the “age of accountability” and therefore go to heaven whether they were
baptized or not.
Baptism doesn’t “save” you or
make you “born again”; baptism is an outward expression of faith of an inward
change made after you become “born again.” The thief on the cross next to
Jesus was not baptized nor did he have to go through any sacraments or
“purgatory.” Yet Jesus saved him after he repented and put his faith in
Jesus. Jesus said: “Amen, I say to you, TODAY you will be with me in
paradise.” (Luke 23:43) (NAB) (1183-1184)
HOLY
SCRIPTURE:
“If anyone does sin we have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is the
expiation for our sins,” (1 John 2:1-2) (NAB) (1414) Again, expiation here
means to the appeasement or satisfaction of God. Because Jesus was the
righteous one (the unblemished Lamb of God, perfectly sinless) he is the only
one who could take away the sins of the world with his sacrificial death on the
cross. When we become truly born again we put our faith in Jesus and
commit to repent of our sins. When you’re born again you aren’t perfect,
but you absolutely do not want to sin and you do your best not to.
However, if you stumble and sin you can confess directly to God in
prayer. He is the only one who knows your heart and can forgive you.
Born again believers don’t habitually sin. They also avoid
circumstances that could lead to sin.
I know as a Roman Catholic I
found confession to be like a revolving door where I would repeat the same
sinful habits, confess them to a priest, say a few repetitive prayers for
penance and think that my slate was wiped clean. Then I would continue
this cycle all over again. The point is I did not repent because I
didn’t truly commit to God to turn away from the sinful habits I confessed.
“If we acknowledge our
sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from
every wrongdoing.” (1
John 1:9) (NAB) (1414)
“Indeed, the word of God
is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even
between the soul and spirit, joints and marrow and able to discern reflections
and thoughts of the heart. No creature is concealed from him, but
everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an
account.” (Hebrews
4:12-13) (NAB) (1381) Only God knows your heart and can forgive you if
you are truly sorry and repent! How can a human priest forgive your sins
if he doesn’t know your heart?
COMMENTS:
Again, because of what Jesus
did on the cross, there now is no mediator between man and God except Jesus.
Confession of sins to a
priest instead of God was instituted by Pope Innocent III in the Lateran
Council in 1215 A.D.4 This begs the question why Christians
could confess to God directly in prayer (as in Holy Scripture) for over a
thousand years but starting in 1215 A.D. confession had to be made to a priest
(which is unbiblical).
One of the major problems of
Roman Catholicism is having to confess to a priest. According to official
Roman Catholic doctrine missing mass on Sunday or any “Holy Day of Obligation”
is a “mortal” sin. And if you die before
this sin is confessed to a priest you will spend eternity in hell! This
is just one common example, and as a Roman Catholic I saw very few Catholics go
to confession on a weekly or even a monthly basis. Based on the odds against confessing your
sins to a priest right before you die there is a pretty good chance of going to
hell!
Dr. Zachello, a former Roman
Catholic priest described how he felt about confession in a pamphlet by Keith
Green entitled “Salvation According to
GOSPEL VEILED TO THOSE PERISHING!
HOLY
SCRIPTURE:
“And even though our
gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the
god of this age (Satan)
has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they may not see the light
of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2
Corinthians 4:3-4) (NAB) (1308) This should be a strong wake-up call for
those that don’t know the truth contained in Holy Scripture! The true
gospel in Holy Scripture was veiled to me for over forty years and I thank God
my eyes were opened before it was too late!
“My people perish for want
(lack) of
knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6) (NAB) (988) NLT translation: “My people are
being destroyed because they don’t know me.” In this passage God is
putting guilt on the priests because God’s people are being destroyed because
they don’t know God due to a lack of knowledge. This makes it clear why
reading the truth in Holy Scripture for yourself is so important. The
primary way God communicates to you is through Holy Scripture. That’s how
you get to know God, his character, how much he loves you and what he requires
of you. The bottom line is he doesn’t want you to perish for a lack of knowledge
and for not knowing him personally as your Lord and Savior.
Jesus said: “Woe to you,
scholars of the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves
did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.” (Luke 11:52) (NAB)
(1166) NLT translation: “How terrible it will be for you experts in
religious law! For you hide the key to knowledge from the people. You don’t
enter the kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering.” Jesus
was scolding the religious leaders for keeping the key of knowledge from the
people so they could know God and not perish. This applied to me when I used to
keep all the religious laws (legalism) but never had the key of knowledge to be
saved and know God personally through the true Gospel of Jesus Christ in Holy
Scripture. The key of knowledge is the gospel in Holy Scripture.
The Bible was once forbidden
to Roman Catholic laymen when it was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by
the Council of Toulouse in 1229 A.D.!4
HOLY
SCRIPTURE:
“for they received the
word with all willingness and examined the scriptures daily to determine
whether these things were so.” (Acts
YOU DON’T NEED ANYONE TO TEACH YOU
HOLY
SCRIPTURE:
“I write you these things
about those who would deceive you. As for you, the anointing (Holy Spirit) that you received
from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you.” (1
John 2:27) (NAB) (1415) As a Roman Catholic I was told that I cannot interpret
the scriptures for myself because I would not understand them. That’s one
reason I never tried to read the Bible as a Roman Catholic. I was told
that I must go by the church’s interpretation through the teaching authority,
the Magisterium, which I was taught is the infallible interpreter of scripture.
(Catechism 890-891) Again, the Pope condemned Galileo for his true
scientific theory which states that the earth revolves around the sun.
The Pope said this contradicted scripture. Obviously the “infallible
interpreter of scripture” was wrong.
“We have not received the
spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand
the things freely given us by God. And we speak them not with words
taught by HUMAN wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual
realities in spiritual terms.” (1
Corinthians 2:12) (NAB) (1285) When you become born again the Bible is
much more understandable because you have the Holy Spirit helping you
understand it!
COMMENTS:
Both the Roman Catholic and
Protestant Bibles have several different translations to keep up with our
ever-changing language. However, they are basically the same because they
both come from the original languages of Holy Scripture. The major difference
is that the Roman Catholic Church added a collection of books and passages
known as the “Apocrypha” to their Old Testament during the sixteenth century.
The apocrypha does not
present itself as being inspired by God. For example, the anonymous
author of 2 Maccabees admits his book is NOT an original work but is an
abridgment of someone else’s writings! (See 2 Maccabees 2:23) (NAB) (505)
The author concludes this
book saying, “If it is well written and to the point, that is what I wanted; if
it is poorly done and mediocre, that is the best I could do.” (2 Maccabees
15:38) (NAB) (523) This clearly proved to me that this is NOT the
inspired words of God! Holy Scripture: “Know first of all, that there
is no prophecy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation, for no
prophecy came through human will; but rather human beings moved by the Holy
Spirit spoke under the influence of God.” (2 Peter 1:20-21) (NAB) (1410)
To top it all off the author
of 1 Maccabees admits that he is not a prophet when he says: “There had not
been such a great distress in
Jesus and the New Testament
writers quoted virtually all of the books of the Old Testament yet none of them
made even a single quote from the entire apocrypha! The early church
never accepted the apocrypha as inspired by God and many Christian leaders
spoke strongly against adding the apocrypha to the Bible, including the writer
of the Roman Catholic Bible (Latin Vulgate), Saint Jerome.2 & 5
He was right!
Holy Scripture: "Every
command that I enjoin on you, you shall be careful to observe, neither ADDING
to it nor subtracting from it.” (Deuteronomy 13:1) (NAB) (172) Also
in Holy Scripture: “ADD NOTHING to his words, lest he reprove you, and you be
exposed as a deceiver.” (Proverbs 30:6) (NAB) (687) The bottom line:
adding the apocrypha to the Roman Catholic Bible was wrong because Holy
Scripture says you don’t ADD to God’s word.
Again, even the Roman
Catholic Church didn’t declare most of the apocrypha to be inspired by God
until the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century. The purpose of this
council was to counteract the Protestant Reformation and the apocrypha was
added to the Roman Catholic Bible in an attempt to help support some Roman
Catholic doctrines such as “purgatory,” which is not in Holy Scripture.
Again, the Bible was once
forbidden to Roman Catholic laymen when it was placed on the Index of Forbidden
Books by the Council of Toulouse in 1229 A.D.!4
COMMENTS:
“Purgatory” is NOT in Holy
Scripture. Even the new Catholic Encyclopedia admits this.
However, the Roman Catholic Church defends this doctrine with the
apocrypha, specifically the same book mentioned above (2 Maccabees
Many priests and seminary
students have left the Roman Catholic Church. One reason cited was the
unbiblical doctrine of Purgatory. A key question asked by one grieving
Roman Catholic was “How many masses must be paid for and said before my loved
one can be freed from Purgatory?”7
HOLY
SCRIPTURE:
JESUS said: “So, because
you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”
(Revelation 3:16) (NAB) (1431) Jesus was referring to our spiritual
temperature and “lukewarm” was a good description of myself. I went to
mass every Sunday, went to confession, communion, was confirmed, got married in
the Roman Catholic Church, prayed, gave to charity, tried to be a good person,
doing more good than bad. I thought this made everything acceptable to
God---how wrong I was! I was basically just going through the motions
with all the rituals and tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. I didn’t
know the truth of what God desires of me until I read Holy Scripture! I didn’t
know God wanted me to invite Jesus’ into my heart for a personal relationship
making him my personal Lord and Savior with a commitment to repent.
HOLY
SCRIPTURE:
JESUS said: “Behold, I
stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I
will enter, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.”
(Revelation 3:20) (NAB) (1431) Once again to become born again you invite
Jesus into your heart and life to become your personal Lord and Savior.
Jesus makes it very clear by using the words above that he desires a personal
relationship with born again believers. People normally invite family
and friends that have a more personal relationship over to dine in their homes.
COMMENTS:
This is the Roman Catholic
Church’s “curse” placed on anyone who does not believe in the tradition and
teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.5 A 1995 Gallup
poll reported that only 30 percent of U.S. Roman Catholics believed in the real
presence of Christ in the Euchrist.11 That means
according to Roman Catholic tradition 70 percent are cursed by their own church
and may not even know it!
The Council of Trent issued
over 100 anathemas to anyone then or in the future who doesn’t believe or
follow its man-made tradition.5 For example, Cannon 4
states that the sacraments are necessary for salvation and if anyone doesn’t
believe this “let him be anathema.”
Again, Jesus told the thief
on the cross “today you will be with me in paradise.” He didn’t tell him
he had to be baptized or go through any sacraments or “purgatory” first. (See
Luke 23:43) (NAB) (1183-1184)
COMMENTS:
The original first century
Apostolic Christian Church is well documented in the Bible. There were no
such things as “Roman Catholic” and “Protestant.” The term “catholic”
(with a little “c” is from the Greek word for “universal”) is not in the Bible
but was used later in history to indicate whether a church shared the same
beliefs as another (like denominations do today). Protestants have always
been “catholics” and are like the first century Apostolic Christian Church of
the Bible. The term “Protestant” is used to distinguish it from the Roman
Catholic Church. It may sound strange but Protestant Christians are more
“catholic” than Roman Catholics because Protestants are more like the original
Apostolic Christian Church of the Bible which had none of the added man-made
tradition of today’s Roman Catholic Church.
Around 324 A.D. tradition,
(man-made doctrines, rules, precepts, etc.) began to creep into church
teachings and continued to be added over the centuries. Finally, many
Roman Catholics said enough is enough and wanted to reform the tradition-laden
church and go back to Holy Scripture alone like the early Apostolic Christian
Church.
A Roman Catholic Priest and
Theologian by the name of Dr. Martin Luther was studying Holy Scripture and
teaching as a professor at the
After learning Latin and
studying Holy Scripture for himself he realized that many of the Roman Catholic
teachings contradicted Holy Scripture. He also learned of all the
corruption going on in the Roman Catholic Church in
Dr. Martin Luther was one of
many Roman Catholic Priests and Theologians that led the Protestant church
reformation. The purpose of the reformation was to get rid of the corruption,
unbiblical man-made tradition, and reform the church back to the original
Apostolic Christian Church of Holy Scripture.7 In other
words, the reformation didn’t change the
There have always been calls
for church reformation from before the Protestant church reformation in the
1500’s to the present day. For example, John Huss, a Roman Catholic
Priest and Theologian, was burned at the stake in 1415 A.D. for insisting that
Holy Scripture was the only rule of faith.7 Roman
Catholic Priests and Theologians are still being affected today. For
example, in January 1997 a Roman Catholic Priest/Theologian was excommunicated
for challenging the Pope’s authority and several core church teachings.15
In the suggested reading list
at the end of these study notes you will find books that explain why many
priests don’t speak out. One of the main reasons cited is because they
have a lot of years invested and don’t want to lose their retirement and have
no skills to fall back on.
Also, several newspaper,
magazine and television reports have appeared over the past few years
concerning Roman Catholics desiring church reformation on man-made teachings
such as celibacy for clergy, birth control, and many other traditional
doctrines and rules. The CBS Evening News on
Many doctrines such as birth
control and confession to a priest (required or suffer eternity in hell) are
widely ignored by Roman Catholics who often openly admit to a “pick and choose”
attitude concerning Roman Catholic teachings. Only 33 percent of Roman Catholics
born after 1961 attend mass regularly compared with 64 percent of those born
before. This is according to a 1995 study by the Catholic Pluralism
Project at Purdue University.14 This means according to
Roman Catholic doctrine 67 percent of young Roman Catholic adults and 36
percent of older adults will be spending eternity in hell because it is a
mortal sin for a Roman Catholic to miss mass. On top of that many of
those who do attend regularly don’t go to confession or adhere to other Roman
Catholic doctrines. And, again many Roman Catholics are cursed by their
own church and don’t even know it because of over 100 “anathemas” declared in
Cannon Law by the Vatican to anyone who doesn’t believe its teachings.5
As a Roman Catholic I was
often told that the reason for the Protestant church reformation was because
the King of England wanted to get a divorce. Some have confused King
James with King Henry VIII. First of all King James was not the one who wanted
a divorce. The English translation of the Bible (King James Version) was
named after him because he was the one who commissioned the scholars to
translate the Bible into English so everyone could read Holy Scripture for
himself or herself. The one who wanted a divorce was King Henry VIII of
I was born into the Roman
Catholic faith like my parents, grandparents, ancestors and most other Roman
Catholics. So like them, I never really knew anything different. This is not only common to Catholicism but
also to Mormonism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and other world religions.
As a Roman Catholic I never
read the Bible, never saw anyone bring one to church or catechism classes.
I commonly heard Roman Catholics say they don’t read the Bible because
they wouldn’t understand it. I rarely read anything that was not of Roman
Catholic origin so I never knew the truth and was kept in the dark about the
true gospel of Jesus according to Holy Scripture. Now that I have read
the Bible for myself and know the truth I can apply it to my life and enjoy
God’s peace and joy.
God knew the future and put a
lot of the applications for today in the Bible so we could know the truth and
reject false teachings. I hope I have shown some of the overwhelming
evidence of this. That’s why I prepared these study notes from the Roman
Catholic Bible, so Roman Catholics with less time available would have no
problem verifying for themselves the truth contained in Holy Scripture.
This in turn will hopefully lead to a deeper study of God’s Word and a
personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You are not leaving anything;
you’re moving closer to God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!
I was especially alarmed to
read about salvation in Holy Scripture and read that Jesus said I must be born
again to go to heaven. I now know that being sprinkled with holy water as
a baby did not make me born again. I heard the term “born again” before
in public but never really understood what it meant. Yet my final
destination for eternity depends on knowing and accepting this truth directly
from Jesus in Holy Scripture!
The Reverend Dr. Billy Graham
is well respected by world and religious leaders and Roman Catholics. In
fact, Pope John Paul II grabbed Billy Graham’s hand and said, “We are
brothers.”30
Dr. Graham gave a crusade in
A Roman Catholic Hispanic man
heard Archbishop Flores’ request and attended the crusade. He came
forward at the “altar call” and said, “I came because Archbishop Flores told us
that we need to hear Billy Graham. And the Archbishop said that we need
Jesus in our hearts. I came to receive Jesus into my heart.”19
The Billy Graham San Antonio
crusade was broadcast nation-wide during the first week of September 1997.
In this crusade Billy Graham illustrated that many people, even in the
clergy are not born again. He said that a Roman Catholic priest (a
Monsignor) told him about when he was riding on public transportation when a
lady punched him on the back to get his attention. The Monsignor turned
around and the lady asked him if he had been born again. The Monsignor
reacted just like me, he had heard the term “born again” but never really
understood what it meant. After that the Monsignor got into Holy
Scripture and found out what he had to do to become born again. He told
Billy Graham he became born again and his life has never been the same ever
since.
The Roman Catholic Church
also actively supported the Billy Graham crusade in May 1998 in
Many Roman Catholics have
told me that in all honesty they dreaded going to mass because it was boring
and they didn’t get much out of it. They went often times to “do their
duty” by fulfilling their “obligation” to attend mass and thus avoid a mortal
sin and a guilty feeling. To many Roman Catholics God seems to be very
distant. He also seems to be more of an angry judge with Mary as an
advocate to help us get God’s help. How sad! Now that I’m truly
born again I love the personal relationship I have with Jesus and look forward
to going to Bible-teaching church services. I now also have an intense
hunger for God’s Word, especially after missing out for over forty years.
Much of the Roman Catholic
laity is also discovering the truth of Holy Scripture. An engineer by
the name of Alfredo Velasquez said he felt a spiritual emptiness that was not
filled by the Roman Catholic Church. So he left for a Christian church
where he found the personal relationship he sought with Jesus Christ and has
never regretted his decision.20
Many former Roman Catholics
have had this intense hunger including former U.S. Congressman Bill Redmond of
Jesus said: “Enter through
the NARROW gate; for the gate is WIDE and road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter though it are MANY. How NARROW the gate and constricted the
road that leads to life. And those who find it are FEW.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
(NAB) (1071)
I now know that my family and
I will be part of the FEW that will be entering the NARROW gate because we
became truly born again according to Holy Scripture.
A key point is that the vast
majority of people who claim to be Christians have not been born again.
This is true of Roman Catholics and Protestants alike. It's not a
denomination or any particular church that can save you; it's the personal decision
and commitment only you can make to God. And only God
knows your heart.
It is very clear to me that
the Roman Catholic Church has become a huge bureaucracy with all its man-made
tradition continually being added to its teachings over the centuries.
Because of the doctrine of infallibility there’s no way of correcting
obvious contradictions to Holy Scripture and other errors. This fact has
turned the simplicity of the Gospel into a religious system of unbiblical
man-made rituals and rules called “tradition.” This tradition tends to keep
most Roman Catholics from knowing the Bible and its true Gospel which could
“save” them. I’m not talking about the written tradition found in Holy
Scripture. The problem is with the unwritten, unbiblical man-made tradition
that has been added after Holy Scripture was written under the inspiration of
God.
There’s no such thing in the
Bible as purgatory or praying the dead into heaven. Also, you can NOT
earn your own way to heaven by good works such as being a good person or
offsetting the bad things with good things you’ve done in your life as many
Roman Catholics believe. This is very clear in Holy Scripture: “all
our good deeds are like polluted rags;” (Isaiah 64:5) (NAB) (841). In other
words our good deeds can never be good enough to earn our way to heaven.
Again, good works do not save you but may be one of the results of a
saving faith. So according to Holy Scripture you can do all the good
works in the world and still not be saved.
I believe it’s important to
repeat the first Bible verse I gave in these study notes. Holy
Scripture: “For by GRACE you have been SAVED through FAITH, and this is NOT
from you; it is the GIFT of God; it is NOT FROM WORKS, so no one may boast.” (Ephesians
2:8-9) (NAB) (1331)
The bottom line is as a Roman
Catholic I had put my faith in the Roman Catholic Church and its teachings when
I should have put my faith in Jesus Christ and Holy Scripture’s teachings.
Christians are under the authority of God’s Word in Holy Scripture while
Roman Catholics are under the authority of the Pope.
Saint Peter and the other
Apostles were questioned by the Jewish High Priest in the Sanhedrin why he and
the other Apostles disobeyed the religious leaders by teaching in the
I learned a lot from Holy
Scripture. One of the major points I found throughout Holy Scripture is
that God wants our obedience, not our sacrifices! (see 1 Samuel 15:22) (NAB)
(257) Also, Jesus said: “If you love me, you will keep my
commandments.” (John 14:15) (NAB) (1211) As an example, God highly
values his name as evidenced by the Third Commandment. As a Roman
Catholic I found it fairly common for many Roman Catholics to habitually use
the Lord’s name in vain. Jesus was once asked what the greatest
commandment was. Jesus said: “you shall love the Lord, your God, with
all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew
22:37) (NAB) (1099) When you are truly born again God becomes “Number One” in
your life, ahead of family, friends, materialism, power, career, etc.
I didn’t know until I read
Holy Scripture that number one on God’s list of things he hates is pride! (see
Proverbs 16:5,18,19) (NAB) (672-673) That’s because it usually leads to sin.
Holy Scripture: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw
near to God and he will draw near to you.” (James 4:6-8) (NAB) (1399)
Roman Catholic doctrine puts
man-made tradition and Holy Scripture on EQUAL footing because it says that
TOGETHER they are the word of God!
Vatican II stated: “Both
sacred tradition and sacred scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the
SAME sense of loyalty and reverance.”7 Also, “Sacred
tradition and sacred scripture form ONE sacred deposit of the word of God,
which is committed to the Church.” (Dei Verbum, #10) (NAB) (ix)
However, tradition is
man-made religious rules which Jesus clearly spoke against. Holy
Scripture alone is the word of God. Jesus said: “If you remain in my
word, you will truly be my disciples, and YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE
TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.” (John 8:31-32) (NAB) (1202)
DON’T PASS UP YOUR
OPPORTUNITY TO BE SAVED---IT COULD BE YOUR LAST CHANCE!
I learned a lot during my
studies. If you read Holy Scripture you will find that Christianity is
not a religion, but a personal relationship with Jesus. God is a loving
Father and a perfect judge who is too holy to look upon sin. Sin is a
barrier between God and us and sin has to be accounted for. Holy
Scripture: “it is your crimes that separate you from your God, it is your
sins that make him hide his face so that he will not hear you.” (Isaiah
59:2) (NAB) (836) Because we can never achieve the perfectly sinless
standard of God he sent his only son who lived a perfectly sinless life in our
place and paid the penalty for our sins on the cross. Jesus offers you
his perfection as a free gift; all we have to do is accept it by becoming truly
born again. That’s how much God loves us! He gives us the free will
to accept or reject the good news of this Gospel! When you truly repent
and become born again you are making a decision and commitment to do it God’s
way instead of your own way. In other words we are not trusting in what
we can do for ourselves but trusting in what Jesus has already done for us.
I also learned in my studies
that God placed an empty place in each person’s heart that could only be filled
by God. That’s why spending your life searching for power, fame and riches
turns out to be very unfulfilling. Just look at all the rich, famous,
powerful people who had it all but ended up miserable or killed themselves by
suicide or drug overdoses. The Bible says: “What profit is there for one to
gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” (Mark 8:36) (NAB) (1129)
God promises you joy and
peace if you’ll only receive Him by becoming born again. See the following Holy Scripture: (Romans
14:17) (NAB) 1278); (Romans 15:13) (NAB) 1279); (Galatians 5:22-23) (NAB)
(1328); (John 15:11) (NAB) (1212)
JESUS said: "I came
so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
(NAB) (1205)
YOU ARE LITERALLY A HEARTBEAT
AWAY FROM WHERE YOU WILL BE SPENDING ETERNITY!
A heart attack or a drunk
driver could kill you today or tomorrow. Is there any good reason why you
can’t receive Jesus Christ right now? He wants you to come as you are;
you don’t need to clean up anything first; he’ll help you with that after you
receive Him. DON’T WAIT UNTIL IT’S TOO LATE!
1. Admit you’re a
sinner and need God’s forgiveness. (1 John 1:9) (NAB) (1414)
2. Commit to turn away
from sinful ways and toward God (repent); you won’t do it alone since God will
help you after you receive Him. (Acts 3:19) (NAB) (1227)
3. Believe that Jesus
Christ died for you on the Cross and rose from the dead. (Romans 5:8) (NAB)
(1268); (Romans 10:9) (NAB) (1274)
4. Through prayer, invite
Jesus Christ into your heart and life by receiving Him as your personal Lord
(Master of your life) and Savior (from sin). (Revelation 3:20) (NAB) (1431);
(Ephesians 3:17) (NAB) (1333); (John 1:12-13) (NAB) (1189)
A SUGGESTED PRAYER TO RECEIVE JESUS
Dear Lord Jesus,
I know that I am a sinner and
need Your forgiveness. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins.
I want to turn from my sins with Your help. I now invite You to
come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my personal Lord
and Savior.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God knows your heart (Hebrews
4:12-13) (NAB) (1381) and if you said this prayer and meant it sincerely with
all your heart, you have been saved and “born again.” These are not
“magic” words to save you; it’s the SINCERE DECISION AND COMMITMENT YOU MAKE TO
GOD IN THIS PRAYER that saves you. The proof is in the change in your
life (repentance).
To deepen your relationship
with God you should read the Bible, pray daily, and attend a healthy
well-balanced, Bible-teaching church. There are many of these churches
(denominational and nondenominational) around the world.
There are many ministries,
books, videos and web sites available specifically to help Roman Catholics.
One ministry I strongly recommend is called "Good News For
Catholics." You can reach them at www.gnfc.org
Their web site has a lot of free downloadable material. This
ministry also has books, videos and web links to other ministries to help Roman
Catholics. Another good ministry is "Proclaiming The Gospel"
Ministry at www.pro-gospel.org which
has a very detailed web site.
Hopefully these notes will
help encourage you to read the Bible. I strongly recommend you start with
the Gospel of John. It is easy to understand and can easily be read in
one evening. Always pray before you read the Bible and ask the Holy
Spirit to help you understand what you’re about to read. (1 Corinthians 2:9-12)
(NAB) (1285)
One of the newest Bible
translations and easiest to understand is the “New Living Translation (NLT).”
It is written in today’s language which makes it much easier to
understand and yet it is an accurate translation of the original languages.
This translation is highly endorsed by Christian leaders including the Reverend
Dr. Billy Graham. I highly recommend the “New Believer’s Bible” which is
written in this New Living Translation. It includes helpful study notes
and is ideal for anyone reading the Bible for the first time.
God said in Holy Scripture: “When
you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your
heart, you will find me with you, and I will change your lot;” (Jeremiah
29:13-14) (NAB) (877)
May God richly bless you as
you seek to draw near to Him!
1. The Holy Bible, The
New American Bible (NAB) With Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms (The New
Catholic Translation), Catholic Bible Press (#9050N), 1987.
2. “The Gospel
According To
3. “Once A Catholic,”
Tony Coffey, Harvest House Publishers, 1993. (Written by a former Roman
Catholic.)
4. “Roman Catholicism,”
Dr. Loraine Boettner, The P & R Publishing Company, 1962. (Used in
these study notes primarily for historical information such as
5. “Escape From
Purgatory,” Joseph R. Schofield, Jr., Matthew
6. The Holy Bible, The
New Living Translation, Tyndale Charitable Trust, 1996.
7. Video: Catholicism:
Crisis of Faith, Lumen Productions. (Produced by a former Roman Catholic.
It’s a professionally made documentary with present and former Roman Catholic
Priests, Nuns, Catechism book writers, lay people, etc.) Available
through "Good News For Catholics" ministry at www.gnfc.org
8. Time Magazine,
9. Robert Nowell,
“British archbishop: ‘Celibacy isn’t divine law,’” Albuquerque Journal,
10. Associated Press,
“Catholics in
11.
12. “Martin Luther,”
Mike Fearon, Bethany House Publishers, 1986.
13. Associated Press, “Former
Bishop To Marry Woman He Ran Away With,”
14. Associated Press,
“Bishops Offer Ideas to Draw Young Adults to Church,”
15. “No Female Priests,
16. “Archbishop Seeks
Reform In the Papacy,” New York Times,
17. “Catholics Try
Polls,”
18. “
19. “
20. “Leaving the
Catholic Flock,”
21. Good Morning
America television show,
22. “Martin Luther,”
Edwin P. Booth, Barbour and Company, Inc. MCMXCV
23. “Catholics Ponder
Return to Meatless Fridays,”
24. ABC World News
Tonight with Peter Jennings,
25. “Catholics Playing
Role in Festival,”
26. “Christianity in
Crisis,” Hank Hanegraaff, President of the Christian Research Institute,
Harvest House Publishers, 1993.
27. “
28. “Two bishops
endorse unity of Christians,” Albuquerque Journal,
29. “Divorce rules
don’t faze some Catholics, priests,” Albuquerque Journal,
30. “
31. “Catholics Make Mass Changes,”
About The Author
J. D. Martinez has been
married for over 35 years and has two adult daughters. He is a retired U.
S. Air Force Officer with a Bachelor of Science degree from
Copyright 1998-2009 by J. D.
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